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This is a few days old, and I haven’t commented on it yet because honestly I thought it was some sort of satire (or possibly incorrect reporting). I first heard of it at Gateway Pundit and it was first reported by the New York Times.

The first sentence of the report says it all -

The United States recognizes that the Taliban are now part of the political fabric of Afghanistan, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said here on Friday, but the group must be prepared to play a legitimate role before it can reconcile with the Afghan government.

How ridiculous is that? To refresh your memory, the Taliban is the group that was running the government in Afghanistan and supporting Al-Qaeda during the 9/11 attacks.

Next in the report comes the part that caused me to think the article was actually just satirical in nature -

That means, Mr. Gates said, that the Taliban must participate in elections, not oppose education and not assassinate local officials.

“The question is whether the Taliban at some point in this process are ready to help build a 21st-century Afghanistan or whether they still just want to kill people,” Mr. Gates said.